In Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indy says, “It’s not the years, honey, it’s the mileage,” in response to Marion’s (Karen Allen) quip that he’s not the same man she knew ten years ago. Fast forward to the upcoming and final film in the franchise, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and the statement is still relevant — except this time, replace ‘years’ with ‘minutes’.
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has confirmed that the archaeologist’s last outing will span more than two hours on the big screen. Speaking to Collider during the Star Wars Celebration event in London, she shared that the movie is around 142 minutes long, which surpasses all the run times of the first four movies.
“It’s around two hours and 22-23 minutes. I will say that the early movies were shorter. They were under two hours and 15 minutes. And we talked about that quite a bit… But as you know, with runtime, it’s all about how you feel, right?” said Kennedy. “So, if you’re sitting in a movie, and it feels long… The reason this is interesting is because long-form storytelling is something that we like in the streaming space. So, I think it might be that it’s some kind of carry over from that. But God knows, this year there were so many three hour-plus movies that I felt I wasn’t getting any work done, trying to see them!”
If director James Mangold sticks to the current cut, the fifth Indiana Jones entry will be 15 minutes longer than The Last Crusade, the chunkiest of the lot. Raiders of the Lost Ark remains the shortest adventure at 115 minutes, while its sequel Temple of Doom clocked 118 minutes. In comparison, subsequent follow-ups The Last Crusade and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came in at 128 minutes and 122 minutes respectively.
Part of the decision to encroach on the near 2.5-hour mark was influenced by the increase in super-sized run times in recent years, with The Batman and John Wick: Chapter 4 being prominent examples. However, Kennedy acknowledged that as long as the padding brings added meaning and value to the movies, it’s all good.
And from its latest trailer, it seems Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny does indeed have plenty to show, from time-travelling shenanigans and some good, old whip-cracking action to a callback to an iconic scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Dial of Destiny hits theatres on 30 June 2023, and will be the last hurray for both Harrison Ford, reprising his role as the titular character — albeit de-aged — and renowned composer John Williams. Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Killing Eve) co-stars as Indy’s Indy’s goddaughter, Helena, with Mads Mikkelsen joining as a villain and Antonio Banderas playing the role of an ally.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Natalie
Trinity Sun
